No working drinking fountains. No dogs allowed on the beach. Drat. We came to have a beach day with my dogs who love to swim. Hiked once around the area and had to go, there was no water for drinking. I wish the dog prohibition was on their website, I would have gone elsewhere. read more

I was looking forward to this trip for about 6 months. I was hyped when we got there but it slowly went downhill from there. I love the nights when camping - cool air, clear starry nights (sometimes), and the quiet. Not quiet in this camping site - I can hear the buzz of the freeway!!! I wanted to hear the waves but the freeway droned it out. Still had a relaxing time and enjoyed the day time activities. read more

What happened to this beach? Looked nothing like the photos of others, or magazines, or blogs, or tourist journals enticing you to come. Lots of seaweed washed ashore with dehydrated and deflated jellyfish, amongst other crap, attached and coveted by a gazillion flies (and that's per stash of seaweed). So every step you take in either direction, you will disturb a swarm that will get out of your way temporarily. For kids who like to collect sea shells, there's none of that even at high tide (unlike Moss Beach / Fitzgerald Marine Preserve around Half Moon Bay in NorCal). Perhaps there are better beaches in the area. read more

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This was one of the most breath taking hike I ever done. Trust me as a chubby guy, I don't do this often enough even though I should. As part of my series of staying at El Capitan Ranch, we decided a good nature hike would be awesome since the donkey ride at our ranch was scratched because of weather reasons. So my boss decided that we should just walk to the beach. I was scratching my head for the longest time on why we need to walk instead of taking our cars. I then realized that the Beach park takes reservation and charges $5 per car for parking. It's a fair price, but we all thought we needed some exercises. It was a good call as we had gone through some easy path with beautiful trees along the way. There were a few streams running down the creeks along the way. At the end of our journey was this beautiful, clean and a very enticing beach that seemed to have the golden dust in the sand. The crashing waves were very loud and the brooks that was in the park gave us some standing stump for higher elevation of the view of the place. There were a few surfers who were brave enough to surf in this cold windy weather, but they were wearing thick body suits. I would have gladly jumped in if it's not the freeze cold temperature in the water. There is a small camping ground next to the beach and a bike path along the park path way. (pfft, why didn't we used that path instead?) The bluff over looking the view of the beach and camping ground was spectacular. I just wished someone would bring the camera for this. It was heavy and nobody wants moisture in their cameras, but c'mon, that was a missed opportunity to do so. For a nature point of view, it's nothing short of a five stars for the entire place. This place is more of outdoor nature hike and a stop of a scenery look than the fishing or camping that the brochure was advertising about. It is also an area that has weak cell phone signals also. Be prepared for that and just enjoyed the lovely nature it has to offer. read more

El Capitan State Beach - From the GoingtoCalifornia's website - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

I LOVE EL CAPITAN! that being said: it is SUPER difficult to get a good spot unless you're hovering over the site on January 1st and are ready to reserve a spot for all the way out in September... the bathrooms are RARELY cleaned--once a week I think-- and people tend to get drunk and throw up in the stalls... so that is nice. there is tar in the water from the oil rigs and it gets into your hair, onto your skin and mixes with the fibers in your bathing suit... which is annoying and gross. BUT it is super relaxing dogs are allowed (on leash at all times) it is really close to Santa Barbara and Solvang and that is it. GORGEOUS campground-- support our state beaches and parks!!! read more

We camped here for one night. We didn't have reservations, as it was a week night in September. We checked out the available sites when we arrived and paid at the self-pay machine. We were lucky to have a great site with beautiful ocean views. The overnight was somewhat noisy- I wish just from the ocean waves (which you can definitely hear), but unfortunately you could also hear the freeway. The bathrooms were not the best, nor the worst. I did not visit the showers because our camping neighbor warned us that they were dirty and did not have hot water. Unfortunately, because we got in somewhat late on the evening we camped, we did not realize that we inadvertently camped in a handicap site. To be honest, I was not aware handicap sites existed, and the marking for it was so tiny on the post that we simply didn't notice it. Because of this, the campground volunteer who comes around in the mornings to check to make sure everyone is paid, woke us up, screamed at us, and called the cops on us. Jeeze. I am fully aware that it is wrong to use any handicap designated anything if you are not handicap, however this was an innocent mistake and I did not knowingly take this space on purpose. Fortunately the law enforcement that came was much kinder and practiced common sense, realized that we paid our fee but made a mistake, and there was no further issue. All in all, a fun place to camp with nice views, but be warned of overnight noise from freeway, perhaps not a hot shower, and some very angry volunteers. If you are looking for good food, drink, etc. I recommend the El Capitan Canyon market (part of an upscale campground) which is just around the corner from here. read more

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A lovely place to stop by! While driving back from Solvang, Chef and I stopped by to check out the beach. It's not a place where you can actually sit on the beach as it's all rocks but you can sit at a picnic table and enjoy the view. Also there are trails where you can walk through and get in touch with nature. It was later on in the day but the sun hadn't set yet, but I'm sure it would have been even more beautiful. I'm a sucker for anything with a view and there is nothing better than a beach! There was no one really here so it was nice to just walk around without a crowd. Definitely a must if you're driving back as it's not going out of your way! Take pics! read more

El Capitan State Beach - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

Cute little area to hang out at! Beautiful place to just hang out with friends and family! Didn't see where someone could swim but I'm sure there's a place! We didn't stay here long. read more

El Capitan State Beach - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

Lovely campground with a really cool beach. We had a great time and will definitely go back. A few downsides: -No enforcement of rules. People were beeping their cars open at 11 pm every night (SERIOUSLY GUYS USE YOUR KEYS). The site next to us had 4 families and at least 7 screaming kids up at 6 am. This is more than the maximum of 8 people allowed. -Tar. We never saw it but it was on our feet and swimsuits. Not the end of the world, but maybe bring your old suits here instead if the new ones. -ANTS. Everywhere. They bit our friends in their tent all night, they made their way inside our trailer, which has never happened. This site must be on a great ant hill. The sites are large and the scenery is breathtaking, but make sure you scrub and remove every crumb of food before you go to sleep lest you be swarmed. And bring ear plugs, apparently campers here are addicted to their noisy key fobs, no matter the time of night or noisiness of beeping. This has never been a problem at other campgrounds. read more

We went camping at this camp ground with our sons cub scout troupe and I had heard from friends who have camped there before that it is beautiful. I was not dissapointed. It was so gorgeous, you could see the ocean as it was RIGHT below the group camp ground. There were stairs down to the beach so the kids could go hiking on the beach and spend hours playing down there. I gave this campground four and not five stars only because the bathrooms are really old and need updating badly. read more

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Spent the afternoon here for day use. You can camp here too but cannot comment on it. Located about 20 miles north on 101. Wasn't really anyone here which was nice. The beach was mostly cobble. Lots of driftwood around. The fine sand was at the waters edge. Interesting to see a juvenile rattlesnake. It was in the rocks where we were setting up. Loved down the beach and did not have any issues. Saw another rattlesnake just off the pedestrian trail. Was much waves. I believe it is a south facing beach. Store was closed. Had showers to get sand off Entry was $10 for day use. Pay at the machine at the entrance. Machine does not accept $20 bill or give change. read more

I cannot believe that this place exist. There's camping here. Pretty good and clean park. The beach is pretty stony but over all its a good place. There's a convenient restrooms to use. No, not one of those outhouse bathroom. It is a building. It's a good drive if you like driving the pacific coast highway. You should try and check it out. read more

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This is a joke if you go camping here them really need to get there act together they allow 6 months to make reservations and when you try to make reservations you can't the wed site doesn't work read more

El Capitan Beach is fairly free of litter and not too crowded but I will never come back and cannot recommend this beach to anybody. After a few minuets of walking along the southern part of the beach I noticed that my feet had tar balls suck all over them!! That's when I noticed balls of tar and crude oil all over the sand and rocks. This cannot be safe for children, adults, or animals! Do not eat the fish from here. You can see the off-shore oil wells on the horizon. Clearly they have ruined this beach. read more

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TAR! TAR! TAR! It was the first time we visited this beach, and we loved it, UNTILL we came home! Kids all covered with TAR! Swimming suits, boards, blanket, flop-flops - everything is spoiled! There is no sign, NO warning, even though the TAR problem is not new (according to yelp reviews and internet!). They charge 10 bucks for parking, but nobody is paying you back for damaged belongings and TAR in your kids hair! BEWARE! read more

This review is for the beach only... For a Sunday it was quit and relaxing our two girls enjoyed it very much. Not to many people which was great. I do think $10 for parking is a little too much and the showers did not work. Other than that nice and peaceful . read more

El Capitan State Beach - Relaxing day at the beach - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

If you're looking for an alternative to the parking lot style of RV beach camping so typical in Southern California, then El Capitan Beach State Park is just the ticket. There are two sites with spectacular views of the Channel Islands and the beautiful blue of the Pacific Ocean. The rest are secluded or shaded with old growth trees. There is a small store and restrooms part way down the trail to the beach. It was closed in October which was understandable. The beach was clean and the paths are well maintained. We have been spoiled by the management of National Forest campgrounds where the camp hosts are friendly and helpful. We only saw the camp host once while we were here only to be told curtly that 8:30am on a weekday was too early to use our generator. (Granted we were in the wrong for not following the published rules, but it could have been conveyed in a more customer-friendly manner.) The young man at the check in booth was as unhelpful as he could be. I am sure he is more suited to a non-customer service career than what he is doing now. Yet even these nuisances could not spoil our enjoyment of such a beautiful setting. The sound of the waves crashing is a wonderful alternative to white noise and a testament to the majesty and creative power of our God! read more

Love this beach and the campground. We come here year round they are RV and travel trailer friendly. They do not have a dump site anymore but they do have water and flush toilets :) book your site online at least 2 months in advance to make sure there is one when you get there. The sites fill up fast. read more

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Quick overnighter with the Dolphin. Ranger was cool, site was clean. $45 bucks is worth it, the surf was good and not crowded. Only bummer is the freeway noise is heard more than the sound of the ocean. read more

El Capitan State Beach - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

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Disgusting ! Lured in by the beautiful driftwood and scenic shoreline, my family and I settled in for a nice beach day. However, after 10 minutes of paddleball on the sand, my feet were covered in tar. Not just a spot or two, COMPLETELY covered. My three kids as well. This can't be safe?!? After further inspection, we noticed globs of tar everywhere in the sand! Gross! I initially thought it was just dead seaweed/ ocean keep washed ashore, but no! My eldest came in from boogie boarding with tar on his face and in his hair. It is sticky, it smears, and forget soap and water soap!! It does not come off without coconut or baby oil. Cal State Parks really should post some warning about tar exposure,and hazards if absorbed through the skin. Inexcusable!!! read more

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This review is for the beach only, not the camping. $10 parking or you can park outside and make trek in. The beach was pretty busy for a weekday afternoon. They have a gift shop outside that sells snacks and drinks. We found a quiet place to ourselves and enjoyed the day. The only downside is the tar. That was the first time stepping on tar at the beach and we had no idea wtf it was. It took a good scrubbing at the hotel to get rid of it all. read more

Now, this to me is almost glamping. Being able to shower and use an actual bathroom is so nice during a weekend of "roughing it". Yes, it's off the freeway, but it's a short walk to the beach. I would suggest driving around and noting down the good sites before you book or doing it on your way home like we did for future trips. I would definitely come back. It's good for camping with friends, family/kids. People even brought their dogs and cleaned up after them. The site is very clean as well. Oh, and we were more scared of the skunks than they were of us! read more

Gosh, this is one sad State Park. Not sure what happened but I could tell that this park once flourished. The beach is rocky and there was almost no one here on a Sunday. It still has decent views and a lot of open space. The oil rigs are clearly seen in thy he ocean back drop. I can't speak to any oil slicks that others reported. I've got to think that was a bit embellished. Overall it is worth a stop but not worth the $10 bucks to get into the park. read more

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These campgrounds are amazing. If you are someone looking for nice beachgoing, nice bathrooms, no wildlife, and a place to take your dogs, I'd suggest you go ahead and go elsewhere. However, these campgrounds are great in my opinion! The raccoons can be a little scary at night but that's all part of the laughter and adventure! Tips: - Bring earplugs to avoid hearing the road, train, and raccoons at night. - Bring quarters and sandals for showers. - Bring firewood - Leave your grill tray at home, the pits come with them. - Go to the beach only for views, there are too many rocks, driftwood, and tar in my opinion for beachgoing activities. - Visit the wind tunnels up north a bit - Put away your food at night to avoid the raccoons getting into them (kind of a no-brainer if you're camping) - Watch out for the poison oak and don't forget your bug spray - Solvang, wineries, and Santa Barbara are just a few minutes away. Hearst Castle is ~2hrs from here. Pros: - Easy access/central location to surrounding towns and site-seeing - Beautiful views, hikes, and trails - Great, spacious campgrounds. - Easy access to bathrooms and dumpster read more

This is a great beach with gentle waves and never too crowded. My only complaint is check your feet when you leave for tar.

Such a great experience. I love camping but Beach camping is where it's at. There's nothing like falling asleep hearing waves crashing. We had a campground that had a short walk to a flight of stairs that led to the beach. read more

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Came here to see if the butterflies were migrating, but we missed out. The guy at the gate was cool and gave us a free pass, since we only wanted to see if the butterflies were present. This is a nice little beach with a store, which is very convenient, because many times there is no store or he shops are all closed. there are hills, so if you are lazy, be aware of that. read more

Camping spots can vary from crowded to semi secluded. So a lot of your experience will depend on that. We were in D loop which was pretty nice. Down sides being the tar on the beach as mentioned numerous times in other reviews. But our biggest bummer, my wife and I were at our pull in camp site, sitting in chairs and randomly this guy just walks into our campsite from the bushes. I pause, stare at him, he's clearly homeless or a transient or whatever. He asks for change. I say no. He walks on through and down the lane asking each camp site for change. The tar beach, is unfortunate, but it's not the camps fault. Random dudes rolling into my campsite asking for money is a camp problem. Aside from that the beach is beautiful to look at. Lots of locations for great photos, the stars at night are pretty epic, and the camp ground wasn't loud or rowdy at night. read more

El Capitan State Beach - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

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This campground was great for the whole family and right next to the beach! Will defiantly try and book this campsite again! That sound of the freeway wasn't bad at all for us. Enjoyed every moment of our trip read more

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El Capitan State Beach is a nice quick getaway from a busy life full of demands. The campsite itself is extremely modest, and some campers do not keep their pets on leash. Setting up camp, was not too eventful, but the campsite was clean and ready for us. The mellifluous lull of the ocean tides will more than make up for any slights or bothersome occurrences. Like a siren beckoning many a sailor to his ultimate doom, we too, were hypnotized by the ocean's song, walking down an easy path of sand and pebbles. We were not met with our doom, of course. Instead, a glorious sunset spread before us in a warm twilight greeting. One could here gleeful laughter at a distance, and marvel at rock walls where individuals adventurously climbed on, while also on the lookout for tide pools and its little inhabitants. Even my children, who have been less inclined to sever ties with their gadgets lately, disentangled themselves, becoming part of the beautiful canvas that only Mother Nature could create. Running with the tides, dabbling in sand art, and building stone fortresses that could instill awe equal to that of the ancients building Stone Henge, are just some things one might find him/herself engaged with. If nothing else, sitting and being present with Mother Nature, herself, is enough to regenerate and rejuvenate. read more

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First timer here and camping is always good wherever you go! this campground and few more along this pacific coast is always packed with campers and it's hard to find the good spot if you try to reserve them at the last minute. six month advance reservation is a must. I reserved this site 110 at the last minute in loop D and yes, i had to pay for it as it seems loop D sties are not well maintained. try to avoid loop D at all cost! restrooms and showers are dirty and some non functional. they had shower booths but half open and nasty. didn't bother using it. Squirls were everywhere trying to get some food or something and some even got into my minivan. Try reserving loop A through C for better maintained sites and restrooms. but other than those, it was peaceful place to be in, with easy access to the beach to play with kids and they even have a tiny grocery store on site. firewoods are also sold at couple of sites within. $ 6 a bundle of wood. but must say I had hard time lighting the wood as it was too moist for the wood to continuously burn through but it finally did. I must have cleared the whole area of bushes to get the fire started. fishing, biking, hiking, beach walking and quick visit to santa barbara is good too. read more

Had a great time camping with family and friends. The best of both worlds!! Camping and Beach Fun!! The kids had a blast. They went bike riding, spend time at the beach and enjoyed s'mores at night. They have clean bathrooms and quarter operated showers. Make sure you bring raccoon repellent cause at night those furry friends come out to eat. My husband also saw a skunk but luckily we were not sprayed. All other reviews say to be careful with tar. The only tar I saw was a dime size amount on my daughters leg but nothing to worry about. We stayed at the Ortega camp site. There was noice due to being right to the freeway but it did not bother me. You can also hear the waves at night which I loved! Beware of the cleaning/volunteer old lady she is not very nice make sure you follow park rules or she will make sure she reminds you of them and not in a nice way. read more

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Stayed overnight on the campgrounds 8/26/17, had a good time. Found an available campsite a few months ago on Reserve America before they did the switch over to Reserve California, luckily someone had cancelled there reservation for that day (Maybe cause the Meaweather fight). Had site #94 in the back - great size space & tress on both sides from neighbors. Cons: * No operating showers available - since it was an overnight trip it wasn't a big deal. * No Firewood for sell onsite from rangers (Drove a block over to the El Capitan Canyons and grabbed some from the Canyon Market @ $7.?? bundle before we even went to our site and settled in. * The Aniso Trail from El Capitan SB to Refugio SB is unavailable ): Overall had a wonderful time, nice tent camping beach experience. read more

The perfect place if your into whale watching, and relaxing. But you all need to relax on the generator rules, really 8PM, most places are 10pm! You could always add hook ups and solve that problem! Oh and be where when your making your reservation on line. If you have a rig DO NOT PARK IN THE LOWER LEVEL, even thou is says yo will fit. There are to many trees with low branches- trust me stick to the left and higher up spots! read more

Great views, decent facilities, semi-private camping sites. We were at campsite 102: close to the bathroom, good sized space and short jaunt to a vista of the ocean & the stairway to the beach. We could see a bit of the ocean through the trees. For ocean-view camping sites we scouted out some good ones-- book 84, 85, 105, 107, 108. read more

El Capitan State Beach - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

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Your camp spot is always critical but no campsite I've been to where this is truth than El Capitan! Book early and do not get a campsite bordering the 101. We had 74 and it was 2 sites from 101 but still horrendously loud it felt like you were under a busy I-5 underpass. There are trees and bushes so you're not completely exposed to the 101- but you wouldn't know it based on the noise. The ones closer to the ocean are obviously key but they are very open - exposed and some on what looks like a concrete parking lot. This said, the grounds and bathrooms are clean and showers were hot. We left early because smelling and hearing the 101 for all that time was numbing. This was also coming from our Big Sur experience which was amazing, quiet and by the river. read more

El Capitan State Beach - Site 74 - Fronts of tent facing the 101. - Parks Near Me - Goleta, California

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It's difficult to type while laughing and shaking my head at the same time. How is it that you expect to camp "in nature" and yet you are alarmed, or worse, offended, at the sight of a skunk or two, or (gasp!) even raccoons? Oh my goodness people, stay home, or go to Campland in San Diego. The only kind of skunk that may find its way into your campsite will be the kind that wafts in. Wink wink. This campground is really spectacular. It offers a lot of scenery and has a great change in topography. There are plenty of wooded areas, lots of walking trails, and of course the beach. I agree, it is a rockier beach than nearby Carpinteria State Beach, but it's spectacular none the less. Just keep track of the tides (ask any life guard or check the chart at the general store) and you can be sure to secure some quality beach time on the sand. The bathrooms are clean and appear to have been built in the last few years. I did hear about the showers being shut down, but by the time we camped, they were back on. My only negative is that you do get a lot of road noise at night. When we camp in Carpinteria, the 101 is only half a mile away, and yet you do not get nearly the same level of road noise. It has kept me up a few times. Perhaps it's because El Capitan is in a more rural area and the sound carries further. I don't know how else to explain it. Maybe next time I'll bring ear plugs for that. As far as the train goes, the tracks run up and down the coast from San Diego to Santa Barbara. It is loud, yes, but it doesn't last long. However, if that's a deal breaker for you, I get it. I just don't get the complaints about the skunks!! read more

Incredible spot near the ocean. Great cabins with a country store that has descent food.

Disclaimer - There are two sets of reviews going for El Capitan State Beach, and Yelp hasn't folded them into one, but they are both for the same State Park. This one has more reviews (12 vs 4) so, I am posting here. OK, down to business. We took a 3 night, 4 day camping trip from Monterey to O.C and this was our third and final night. Right up front, I will tell you that this was my favorite campground of the three we stayed in (Big Sur, Morro Bay and El Capitan). Pros - Many sites seemed to have a view of the ocean (from partial to 'wow! I am on a cliff watching the ocean from my tent!') They were very relaxed about us changing our site. We arrived and found our site was pretty small with brush right up against the tent area and table, so we asked if we could change. They gave us a list of available sites and we drove around until we found one we liked and boom! goes the dynamite! They have clean, modern restrooms, with hot water showers (25 cents for a few minutes, a dollar or two will give you plenty of time) and a hot water outside sink to wash dishes. It's only a short drive into Santa Barbara, so you can stay here and day trip it in if you are from out of town. Good beach to play in, it's a short hike down (5 minutes) from the campsite and there are cold free showers to rinse off the beach sand. Cons - some people complained about the train tracks and highway. I didn't hear the train at night (I did during the day) and we got used to the highway so it didn't bother us. We had some high wind gusts for an hour or so, but they died down after dark. Wasn't a big deal for us, but then again, we have lived in a lot of places and we're big boys and girls, so we don't whine about things like this. Summary - worth giving it a shot! We''ll be back! read more

Was great staying here. Lots of great RV spots. People were nice a friendly. Walk to the beach is not far at all . Bathrooms were not very clean (but that's usually every camp ground). View was amazing . read more

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